Hamburg Concerto
| Hamburg Concerto | ||||
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| Focus studio album | ||||
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Publication |
April 1974 |
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| Label (s) | EMI -Boverna BV | |||
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Format (s) |
LP , CD |
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Title (number) |
5 (LP), 6 (CD) |
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running time |
42 min 58 sec. |
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Mike Vernon |
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Studio (s) |
January 1974 - March 1974 |
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Chart positions Explanation of the data |
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Hamburger Concerto is the fourth studio album by the Dutch progressive rock band Focus , released in April 1974. It was in the British charts for five weeks in May and June 1974, where it peaked at number 20. During the same period, it was at the top 16 in the Norwegian charts for seven weeks. The album reached number 66 in the American charts.
background
After intensive tours through Great Britain and the USA in 1972 and 1973, the popularity of the band grew strongly internationally, which was reflected in the corresponding chart positions. The singles Hocus Pocus , Sylvia and Hocus Pocus 2 were successfully placed in Great Britain. In the USA there were even two singles and three LPs on the sales lists at the same time. With this in mind, work on the fourth album began in early 1974. Even if the title suggests it is not a live album by the band. The choice of the album title should be based on the banal fact that Jan Akkerman ate hamburgers while composing the main themes of the album in the New York Hilton Hotel.
content
The Hamburg Concerto mainly contains instrumental pieces. The short intro piece Delitiae Musicae , stylistically carried by guitar and flute, is based on a medieval manner and in particular on a tablature collection by Joachim van den Hove from 1612. This is followed by the rocking piece Harem Scarem . La Cathedrale de Strasbourg is a more complex piece with symphonic organ passages and vocals by Thijs Van Leer. The last piece on the first record side, Birth, begins with a short harpsichord passage, but quickly turns into a rock title carried by many solo instruments. The central track of the release on the second side of the record is the title track Hamburger Concerto, which lasts over 20 minutes and consists of six parts . Overall, the album stands out due to its quite extensive instrumentation.
Track list
page A
- Delitiae Musicae (Akkerman) - 1:13
- Harem Scarem (Van Leer) - 5:52
- La Cathedrale de Strasbourg (Van Leer) - 5:00
- Birth (Akkerman) - 7:46
Side B
- Hamburg Concerto (Akkerman / Van Leer) - 20:20
- Starter - 1:59 (arrangement of the theme from Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op. 56a by Johannes Brahms )
- Rare - 3:24
- Medium I - 4:06
- Medium II - 6:03
- Well Done - 3:27 (the first two stanzas of the Dutch hymn " O Kerstnacht, schoner dan de dagen ")
- One for the Road - 1:20
The CD edition also contains the track Early Birth as a bonus track (VanLeer - 2:54)
occupation
- Jan Akkerman - guitar, percussion, lute, clap, timpani
- Thijs Van Leer - organ, synthesizer, flute, alto flute, piano, accordion, harpsichord, keyboards, electric piano, recorder, vocals, voices, whistling, clapping, mellotron, vibraphone,
- Colin Allen - percussion, castanets , conga , drums, tambourine, Chinese gong
- Hans Eric Cleuver - drums
- Martin Dresden - bass
- Bert Ruiter - bass, percussion, harp zither, bass guitar, triangle, clapping, hand cymbals, Swiss hand bells
- Pierre van der Linden - drums
Others
- Mike Vernon - producer
- Bob Hall - sound engineer
- David Hamilton-Smith - Sound Engineer, Production Assistant
- Rod Thear - sound engineer
- Ian Murray - Art Direction
- Graham Hughes - Photograph
- Harrison Fisher - Mastering
Publications
- LP 1974 Germany Polydor 2383 284
- LP 1974 USA ATCO Records SD 36-100
- LP 1974 UK Polydor DELUXE 2442 124
- LP 1977 Netherlands EMI-Bovema 5C 064.25693X
- CD 1988 Netherlands EMI-Bovema CDM 7 48860 2
- CD 2006 Japan Victor Entertainment Japan VICP-63667
swell
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↑ a b Chart positions of the album:
- Hamburger Concerto in the Dutch charts on DutchCharts.nl
- Hamburger Concerto in the Official UK Charts (English)
- Hamburger Concerto in the Norwegian charts on NorwegianCharts.com
- Hamburger Concerto in the US Billboard 200
- ^ C. Graf: Rockmusik-Lexikon Europa Volume 1, p. 293, Taurus Press 1986, ISBN 3-922542-22-0
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from July 21, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.discogs.com/Focus-Hamburger-Concerto/master/54731
